VILLA PARK – A year ago, Villa Park Elementary's classrooms were a confusing jumble – one sixth-grade classroom might be jammed uncomfortably between rooms for second and fourth grades while other sixth-grade rooms were scattered across the campus.

The confusing layout was the legacy of grade shifts by teachers, who kept their locations even as they took on new grades. And the result was limited collaboration among teachers at each grade level.

So for 2011-12, Principal Debra Larson rearranged the campus so classrooms for each grade would be nestled together in the same areas.

It's a move staff members say played a surprisingly large role in the school's amazing improvement in state English and math tests, which in turn propelled a 68-point leap in the Academic Performance Index score.

The school's 980 score – the fourth highest among county elementary schools – likewise played a big role in the school's leap to No. 7 in the Register's 2013 rankings of Orange County's top public elementary schools.

"This staff is willing to embrace new ideas. It's a collaborative effort with everybody," Larson said. "We worked really hard, and we're hoping to keep the scores up."

Now Villa Park teachers work together within grade levels and with teachers in other grades to create a steady continuum for the students, said sixth-grade teacher Jean Krever.

Fourth-graders Zachary Shenouda and Lydia Wong, both 10, like the new room arrangement.

"It's easy to get around," Zachary said.

The students have learned to work together, too, to prevent bullying and make everyone feel welcome, Lydia said. They even share playground equipment, Zachary said. Every day, the students walk past a Villa Park bobcat, painted on an outside wall with reminders of how to treat each other kindly.

That friendly, small-town feel carries over from the days when children rode their horses to school, tying reins to the fence before entering the classroom, said fourth-grade teacher Sharon Rowland.

Larson has made a number of other changes, too, since she arrived on campus four years ago. Among them: obtaining grants to implement a Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support program and the Excellence: A Commitment to Every Learner program.

ExCEL restructures class time and groups students by ability so teachers can spend more time with those who are struggling.

"Our scores have just skyrocketed because of that," Larson said.

The teachers worked to ensure that all 664 students were being challenged.

"We have a high-achieving school. We felt we weren't challenging the gifted and talented kids," Larson said. The school has no GATE program. "Now we're challenging them so they're forced to work harder."

Parents are also a big part of the Villa Park Elementary community. The school has a Home and School League, not a PTA, and helps fund art, music and technology on campus, including 21 interactive whiteboards at about $1,500 each, Larson said. Parents also help out in the classrooms.

"(School is) fun because we get a lot of time to play and we learn a lot," said third-grader Nathan Jones, 9. "We listen to our teachers and find out new things."

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